A New Member for the Thunder God Tribe
by Jeice Lover
Summary: "Lucy Heartfilia, we would like you to join the Thunder God Tribe!" "...EH!" When the Thunder God Tribe offers Lucy a position on their team, will she accept? And how will her decision affect Team Natsu?
1. Chapter 1

"So, remind me again... why am I here with you guys?" Lucy had her arms crossed over her chest, and was looking around at the three sharing the seats with her. To her right, on the aisle seat, sat Evergreen. In front of her, on the opposite seat, was Freed and Bixlow. Freed raised a thin eyebrow at the question.

"What? You mean you've forgotten? I asked you only a few hours ago if you'd like to come with us on this job. It's only taking out a minor dark guild in a town. We asked you in the guild. You said okay because Natsu and Lisanna are on another mission catching up, Erza is shopping for armor, and Gray is on a mission with Juvia. Plus, you mentioned you needed rent money and we agreed to split the earnings with you." Lucy twitched and looked off to the side.

"Okay, let me re-phrase that. Why did you guys ask me to come along with you?" Bixlow shrugged and grinned, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth as he did so.

"Well, why not? You're pretty strong, I know that from experience." Lucy nodded, remembering how she and Loke defeated Bixlow back during the Fairy Tail battle royale that Laxus had put up. Evergreen put an arm around her shoulders and leaned in.

"Besides, we want to see if you're really as tough as all the rumors say you are. Like how you took out an entire dark guild that was holding people in that one merchants' guild hostage and just breezed out when it was nothing." Lucy sweat-dropped, remembering the circumstances under which she drew out such a reserve of rage and power. After all, it wasn't like it was every day that you thought your dad was going to die and you had to rush to prevent that so as to not walk around the rest of your life feeling guilty and knowing that the last thing you told your father was that you hated him.

"Well, most of those rumors aren't true, but that one was. It's kind of a long story." Bixlow glanced out the window, pulling his tongue back into his mouth for a moment so he could speak.

"Well, you can save that story for later, because we're here."

–

Lucy poked her head out from behind the clump of shrubs that she was currently hiding behind. Freed looked at her strangely, as he and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe were standing out in the middle of the road.

"What are you doing, Lucy?" Lucy started and began sweating nervously.

"Ah, well, you know," she fumbled nervously, "I mean, we're right outside the dark guild's hideout, shouldn't we try to sneak our way in and fight them from there?" Bixlow snorted at the thought.

"Why should we be doing that? We're the Thunder God Tribe, we have enough power to just go in there and take them down. Anyways, why are you scared? You took out an entire guild all on your own, once." Lucy sweat-dropped as she stepped out from behind the bushes.

"Yeah, that's kind of a big part of that long story we didn't have time for on the train." Evergreen pushed up her glasses and huffed.

"Well, either way, we're here now. Let's get this done. And don't you think about slacking behind," she said pointedly to Lucy, "otherwise you won't get that cut of the earnings." Lucy sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know." She straightened herself up and clenched her fist. "Alright, here goes, for my rent!" Freed drew his saber and pointed to the door.

"Thunder God Tribe, enter." Lucy hopped up and waved her arms.

"Wait wait!" She held up one of her keys and smiled devilishly. "If you want to make a big entrance, then you have to do it right."

–

The dark guild members yammered and laughed and clanked tankards of drink against one another. They talked of their latest heists and attacks and missions as she slugged down their drinks. Suddenly, though, the rowdy calm was broken by the front door to their guild being thrown inwards. Literally thrown, as the doors themselves went flying into the room and crashed into the other wall, having been torn off their hinges from whatever had made the impact.

"What the hell?!" One of them shouted out. They all dropped their jaws when they saw the enormous, hulking creature in the door.

"Y'all better MOOOVE outta' my way!" The creature drew a gigantic battle axe from a strap on its' back and brought it crashing down on a table, slicing it cleanly in half with the one blow. It moved away from the door, and four people were at the entrance.

"Very nice," the one in the center said, "excellent way to make an entrance, Lucy."

"Thanks, Freed," Lucy said back. "Now, let's show these dark guild creeps what we're made of!"

"Agreed," Evergreen said as she stepped in delicately. "Look out boys, here I come."

"Let's get 'em babies!" Bixlow laughed. His little barrel-shaped minions giggled along with their master and flew off to attack. Meanwhile, Lucy had closed up Taurus' gate and pulled another key from her ring.

"Did you like Taurus? Because I'm just getting started! Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" She turned her key and a bright light shone as Virgo appeared before her.

"You called princess?" She took in the scene for a second and let out a small 'ah'. "Ah, I see, a battle. Would you like me to take care of them for you?" Lucy nodded, and Virgo responded with a bow. "As you wish." A light shone around her and she suddenly disappeared into the ground, a large hole where she had been a moment before. Not a second after, many of the dark guild members were pulled down so their heads were above ground slightly, but other than that, they were up to their necks in dirt. Virgo popped up before Lucy once more and bowed. "It seems they have all been taken care of, will that be all, princess?"

"Yeah, that'll be good for now, thanks Virgo?" Virgo got in one more bow before her gate was closed and she was sent back to the celestial world.

"Wow, impressive.' Lucy jumped, only just remembering that the Thunder God Tribe was still there.

"I love your spirits, and you have such good control over them," Bixlow complemented.

"It's more of a partnership, really," Lucy said, waving away the complement.

"Lovely way to make an entrance as well. Really gets things warmed up for a fight," Evergreen approved. Freed looked to his two teammates, a strange expression on his face.

"So, have we decided?"

"I think we have." Lucy blinked, not understanding.

"Um, decided what?" Freed and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe turned to her and stared her down, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"You see, Lucy, the Thunder God Tribe is a powerful group on its' own, but we cannot help but feel that something is missing. We thought that perhaps it was time for some new blood to join our group. You see, the reason we invited you was actually so we could see whether or not we thought you were what we were looking for, and you fit the bill perfectly. And so, we would like to extend this opportunity to you." Lucy stiffened, flustering as she realized what Freed meant.

"Eh?! You mean-"

"Lucy Heartfilia, we would like you to join the Thunder God Tribe!"

"...EH?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy could feel the drops of sweat dripping their way down the back of her neck as the stood in front of the Thunder God Tribe. Feeling pressured to lighten the mood, she waved her hands in front of her defensively.

"Um, thanks guys, really, it's an amazing offer and I don't know what to say. But, I mean, this is all so sudden..." she groaned inwardly as her mind raced to find something to say that wouldn't sound stupid. "Well, what I'm really trying to say is, it's a nice thing to offer, but I'm going to have to pass." Evergreen looked shocked at her response.

"Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how many wizards would be thrilled to be offered a chance like this?! I mean, we are one of the strongest teams in Fairy Tail." Freed held an arm between the two girls.

"Now, Evergreen, remember, this was just an offer. No need to pressure her into this if she doesn't want to join." He looked up at Lucy and smiled reassuringly. "Well, I can understand that you might be hesitant at first, seeing how this is so sudden and all. Not to mention you must feel an obligation to your own team." Lucy nodded, her mind had indeed jumped to her friends for a moment when the offer had been put out there. "It's alright, if you want to decline our offer, then we won't force you. However," he flashed her another small smile, "our offer will continue to stand if you decide to change your mind." He clapped his hands and looked at his own teammates. "So, shall we collect our reward?" Lucy, remembering the reason she had come along in the first place, nodded furiously.

"Yeah! Right! Let's go now!"

–

"Mira! I'm back!" Mirajane looked up from a glass she had been polishing to grin at Lucy as she came in through the guild doors.

"Welcome back, Lucy," she said cheerfully. "I was wondering where you had disappeared off to so suddenly." Lucy grinned nervously as she sat down on a bar stool.

_That's right, I had forgotten to tell anyone that I went on that mission with Freed and the others._

"Hey! Lucy!" Levy plopped herself down on the seat next to Lucy. "There you are, I was wondering where you were!" She had her glasses on and a book in her hand, so Lucy assumed that her friend had just been reading.

"Yeah, well, I'm back now," Lucy said. Mira set down one glass and picked up another.

"Well, it's good that you're back. Natsu and Lisanna should be coming back from their job some time soon. It sounded like they would have a lot of fun taking down that monster!" Lucy sweated when she heard the job they had taken. So, **that** was the job they had taken together. "So, where **did** you go off to without telling anyone?" Lucy leaned back against the bar counter and waved her hand.

"Oh, that. Freed offered to let me join a mission with him and his team. I needed the money for my rent, so I said yes." Both Mira and Levy's eyebrows shot up upon hearing the explanation.

"You mean you went on a mission with the Thunder God Tribe? For real?!" Levy exclaimed. Lucy nodded and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, it was nothing big. They just invited me to come along," she said, purposefully avoiding the fact that they had actually offered to let her join their team.

"Wow, sounds like a lot of fun," Mirajane said as she placed down the last polished glass. "Well, it's good you're back now. Want something to drink?" Lucy nodded, asking for orange juice. Just as she took her first sip, the guild door slammed open and a familiar voice called out.

"Hey everybody! We're back." Lucy looked up and called out.

"Hey Natsu! Hi Lisanna! Hi Happy! Welcome back!" Natsu laughed aloud as he plopped himself down on the seat next to Lucy. Lisanna seated herself on the other side of him and Happy floated above the counter.

"Hey Lucy! Man, that mission was awesome!" He shot his fists in the air, grinning widely. "I mean, you shoulda' seen it! We totally destroyed that monster! Lisanna was awesome, especially in her Tigress form!"

"Sounds awesome, Natsu," Lucy said. Suddenly, Natsu halted and began sniffing. He continued to do so as he turned his head here and there, and began leaning closer to Lucy. "Um, problem?" she asked nervously.

"You smell weird," he said after one last sniff. This response was met by a swift kick to the face from Lucy.

"Rude!" she yelled out as her foot made contact with his chin. He was knocked cleanly out of his chair, Lisanna crying out in shock by the sudden attack.

"No! Not like that!" Natsu said as he got back up and rubbed his chin. "I mean you smell like someone else was with you. Did you go somewhere?" Lucy shrugged and crossed her arms as she leaned against the counter slightly.

"Yeah, I went on a job while you guys were off on yours, it was nothing big," she said as she shrugged. Natsu looked shocked at her answer.

"You went off on a job? With who?"

"Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen. Why?" Natsu's jaw dropped when he heard the names.

"What?! Why'd you go with them? I thought we were a team!" Lucy straightened herself up, feeling like the fire dragon was implying something.

"We are! It's just that you were gone, they offered to split the money with me, and I needed my rent money! It was nothing!" Like when she was speaking with Levy and Mira a moment ago, she studiously avoided mentioning that they had actually offered for her to join their team.

"But you went without us!" Happy exclaimed with big puppy dog eyes. Lucy crossed her arms and puffed her chest out.

"Yeah? Well... you guys went on a mission with Lisanna without me!" Their conversation was steadily growing into an argument, and Lisanna could sense the transition when it happened.

"Natsu," Lisanna tried to intervene, but it was already too late to stop the turning gears.

"Well, she's Lisanna, it's different!" Natsu defended. "Besides, you said it was okay if we went and it was just us." Lucy slammed a hand on the bar counter.

"Oh! What? So it's not okay for **me** to go on missions with other people, but you can?!" Lisanna held her hands out nervously, touching Natsu lightly on the shoulder.

"Natsu, really, it's not-"

"I never said that!" Natsu shot back. Lucy frowned and jumped down from the barstool, landing with a loud 'thump'.

"Oh really?! Because, it sure sounds like what you're saying! You know what, you're not the one who can decide who I go on missions with! I'll team up with whoever I want, and you can't do anything about it!" With a grunt of anger, she ran past the trio and out the guild doors. Natsu, Lisanna, Mira, and Happy stared after her as she stormed out.

"... Lucy didn't seem really happy," Happy stated. Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, seriously. I wonder where she's running off to."

–

Lucy ran through the streets of Magnolia, blinded by her frustration. She didn't really know what she wanted to do, but an idea suddenly came to mind when she saw someone sitting at an outside table of a cafe.

–

Freed was sitting at his favorite table of his favorite cafe with his favorite drink while reading his favorite book. All was right with the world. Suddenly, his inner peace was interrupted when someone slammed their hand on his table. He started, then started looking at who it was. His eyes started on the hand, with a pink fairy tail mark on it, went up the arm, past the (very large) chest, and finally up to the face. He raised his eyebrows when he recognized Lucy's face.

"Lucy," he said with evident surprise in his voice. "What are you doing here?" She had a determined expression on her face, and leaned down so her face was close to his.

"Is that spot in the Thunder God Tribe still open?"


	3. Chapter 3

"You said what to her?! You idiot!" Gray shot at Natsu. The fire dragon, who had been sulking a moment ago, shot up and glared at the ice mage.

"What'd you call me?!" he shouted. Gray leaned in so they were butting foreheads.

"You heard me! You're! An! Idiot!" He pulled his head back, causing Natsu to flail comically as he tottered forward momentarily before he was able to pull himself back upright. "I can't believe you said that kind of stuff to Lucy! It's no wonder she ran off like she did! You sounded like some kind of possessive bastard boyfriend!" Natsu crossed his arms and turned his back on Gray.

"I wasn't being possessive! And I'm not her boyfriend! I was just asking her why she was going off with those guys instead of us, that's all." Gray smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, astounded by the fire-users raw idiocy. Before he could rant any more, though, Erza stepped up and took over that position.

"Gray is right, Natsu. Lucy has the right to go on missions with whomever she wishes to, it's her choice, not ours. Besides, I doubt she would do anything like leave our team after going on just one mission with another team." She slammed a hand on the bar counter, causing Natsu to flinch. "When she gets back here, I am going to speak with her, then I am marching you right over to apologize to her! Do you understand?" Natsu grunted, still facing his head away from her. He shivered when he felt Erza looming over him, a dark and scary aura surrounding her. "I **said** do you understand?"

"Yeah! Yeah! I understand!" Natsu cried out in fear. Wendy sauntered up as the threats went on, nervously fiddling with her hands.

"U-um, is something wrong between Natsu and Lucy? I overheard them arguing yesterday, and I was wondering what was wrong." Erza smiled gently and patted the young dragon slayer on the head.

"No need to worry, it's just Natsu being an idiot. We'll have all of this sorted out as soon as Lucy comes back to the guild. Lisanna sighed, sipping a glass of ginger ale.

"I really haven't talked to the Lucy of this world that much, but she seems nice. I wish I could have been able to talk to her without all of this going on. I want to be friends with her." She perked up and smiled. "Well, that doesn't matter, I'll just get to know her once this whole mess is settled, yeah!" Not long after the conversation (and threats of pain and death to Natsu) had ended, Lucy did indeed come back through the guild doors. As soon as she walked in, Erza smiled and got up from her seat.

"See, what did I tell you? I'll be right back." She shot a warning look at Natsu. "And **don't** let me find that you've run off after I went." Natsu grumbled to himself as Erza walked over to Lucy. However, just as she was about to reach her friend, a voice called out Lucy's name.

"LUUCYYY!" A wild Evergreen appeared and threw an arm around Lucy's shoulder. "There you are, we've been waiting for you! Come on, Freed and Bix want your help deciding on a job. Let's not keep them waiting!" She pulled Lucy away, leaving Erza standing there. Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Charle, and Lisanna all stared at Erza's reaction. The red-haired mage stood there for a moment, stock-still, then slowly turned around and began walking back towards them. They all expected her to say something, but instead, she just came back to them and sat herself back down on her barstool. Only after a few quiet (and very awkward) moments had passed, did Erza turn to them and speak quite plainly.

"So... all of you saw that too, right?" Gray fell over at the lack and delayment of reaction.

"Yeah, I saw that, but I don't know what I really saw," Wendy said as confusion filled her face. Happy munched on a fish as he spoke.

"Why did Lucy go with Evergreen?" Happy asked. Natsu was staring over at the job board, where Lucy was now standing with Freed, Evergreen, and Bixlow. With a grin, he hopped up and went over to them.

"Hey! Luce!" Lucy looked up at him, then gave him an odd smile.

"Oh, hey there Natsu," she said plainly. Natsu continued grinning, having forgotten his former melancholy.

"Well, he certainly forgot about that argument, and his apology, rather quickly," Erza quipped. Natsu was energetically talking to their blonde friend.

"So, yeah, Lucy! I found this really awesome job earlier that all of us could go on! You know, to make up for the job you didn't come with us on yesterday! Whadda' ya' say!" Lucy lost her odd little smile and looked over to Freed. Freed stepped forward between the two mages.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you'll have to find someone else to go with you. Lucy has asked me to deliver her resignation from Team Natsu for her." Natsu's face fell completely blank, like someone had just turned out the lights in his brain. "Henceforth, she would like it to be known that she is now an official member of the Thunder God Tribe." He took the job that they had chosen and breezed past, all the rest of the Tribe, now including Lucy, following behind.

"See you Natsu," Lucy said without looking back. The rest of Team Natsu stared after her as she left with her new team. Gray was the only one who finally spoke up.

"Um... what just happened?"

–

Gajeel had his hands in his back pockets as he made his way into the guild. Rather than stopping to speak to anyone, he made a beeline straight for the job board. He grabbed a monster-killing job off the board while hardly looking at it and turned to head for where Mira was so she could confirm the job for him. However, when he turned, he found Natsu standing in his way.

"Oh, it's you flame-brain. Would ya mind moving outta' my way? I've got a job to get to." However, the fire mage didn't seem to hear him, he just continued staring straight ahead with a slack jaw. "Hey, you listening to me? I said move." Natsu didn't budge an inch, only stayed there. Made curious by the lack of response, Gajeel frowned and snapped his fingers in Natsu's face. When this produced no response, he waved an open palm back and forth in front of him. This produced about as much of a reaction as the snapping fingers had. He happened to glance up and saw Levy sitting at a table, for once, without Jet and Droy. "Hey, Levy!" The blue-haired girl looked up at his call. "What's up with flame-brain?" Levy shrugged and pulled off her reading glasses.

"I don't know, he's been like that since I got here."

"How long ago was that?"

"About two hours ago." Gajeel's eyebrows went up to his hairline at the response. He seemed to ponder something, then pulled his fist back and let it forward smack in Natsu's face. This bowled the dragon slayer over and onto the floor. However, in a moment, Natsu was up in Gajeel's face and rubbing his cheek.

"Hey! What was that for?!" He yelled out. Suddenly, though, he seemed to remember something that drew his immediate attention away from the punch to the face a moment ago. "Lucy!" He jumped up and raced out the door, yelling back at Gajeel. "I'm going to get you back later! Just not now!" Gajeel, left in the dust with the job form still in his hands, slowly blinked twice. He looked back at Levy, as she was also staring.

"So, I'm not the only one who had no idea what that was all about?"

"Nope."


	4. Chapter 4

"_Bhluuurgh._" Natsu clamped his mouth shut as he gagged spasmodically. "I. Hate. Trains." Indeed, he was currently occupying a seat on the express train, with Happy faithfully by his side. The blue cat patted his head as he was keeled over.

"There there, Natsu, we're almost there," Happy soothed as he petted Natsu's head. Natsu dry heaved and let his tongue loll out of his mouth.

"Good to hear," he grunted. He held in another heave and let his head rest against the seat. "Just wake me up when we get there." Natsu had a reason he was riding this particular train, despite his dislike of vehicles. After his mad rush out of the guild, and the later realization that he had no idea where Lucy had gone while he had been brain-dead for the past few hours, he had back-tracked to the guild and asked around. As it turned out, she had left the guild for a job with her new team (the very thought of it still made him shocked). So, after learning the town the job was in, he had run off and caught the very first and fastest train to there. In his rush, though, he hadn't stopped to consider his motion sickness.

"So, what're you gonna' say to Lucy once we see her?" Happy asked as he munched on a fish. Natsu turned away from the sight of the fish (one of the few times he couldn't stand to look at food), and answered his friend.

"Easy, I'm gonna, _hurgh_," he paused to allow a wave of nausea to pass him, "I'm gonna' ask her to re-joing our team. What else would I ask her?" Happy tilted his head to the side.

"You sure? You don't wanna' apologize to her like Erza said to?" Natsu would have shrugged, if he could.

"What's to apologize for? All I was saying to her was, _blegh_, that Lisanna was already a part of the team, and going with her would be just like_, ugh_, me going on a mission with her. I was just asking why _rrb_, she went with them instead of waiting for us to get back." Happy shrugged and munched his seafood.

"Whatever you say, Natsu," he said with a shrug. Natsu heaved again and pressed his face into the seat.

"_Blagh_, I'm gonna' die before we even get to the station."

Finally, though, it seemed the torture was over and the train pulled to a stop. Natsu stumbled off of the train and immediately flopped onto a bench.

"Thank goodness, it's over," he muttered. His ears twitched when he heard a familiar voice some ways ahead of him. "Is that..." He lifted up his head a bit, and saw a familiar head of blonde hair. There was Lucy, smiling and laughing as she was talking energetically with Freed. As she was following them onto a train opposite of the one he had just gotten off. Seeing this, he tried to get up, though the motion sickness kept him down. He held out a shaking arm, trying to force himself up as she boarded with her, how he hated the idea, new team. "Lu-_ulgh_- Lucy. Waiiit." Alas, he couldn't do it, and had to flop back down and listen as the train started up and sped off to its' destination, Magnolia, exactly where he had just come from. "Man I hate trains."

–

"Excellent work out there, Lucy," Freed complimented. The new member of their team blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "I mean it, the way you work with your celestial spirits is absolutely phenomenal. How about a little dinner with all of the team, you know, to celebrate your first official mission as a member of the Thunder God Tribe." Lucy smiled and politely shook her head.

"Thanks, but I can't. I already made plans with a friend for this evening, and I don't want to break them." Freed nodded understandingly.

"Very well then, perhaps another time."

–

Erza sighed as she leaned her head against her hand, her fist pressing into her cheek slightly. To think, her plans for today were ruined because her teammate had joined another team. She had planned to go shopping for new armor with Lucy today, but it seemed that, thanks to Natsu, that wasn't going to happen. So, weighted down by her disappointment, she had opted to just stay at the guild for the evening.

"Hey! Erza!" Erza shot up and turned around at the sound of the voice. It was Lucy walking towards her, smiles and all.

"Lucy," Erza said with a bit of shock.

"Hey, where were you?" she asked as she came up to where Erza was standing. "You said to meet outside the shop, but you weren't there, so I came here to look for you. What's up? Do you need to cancel?" Erza shook her head.

"No, I mean, I thought... I thought that you had made it clear you wanted nothing to do with us earlier." Lucy blinked, eyes wide, and waved her hands in front of her.

"Oh! No no no! It's nothing like that Erza. I was coming over to talk to you earlier, but Evergreen just got over-excited and pulled me away before I could, that's all." Erza felt a bit better, but voiced the thing that had been on her mind before the stellar mage had walked up.

"But, you quit the team..." Lucy smiled reassuringly to her red-headed friend.

"Just because I'm on a new team doesn't mean I don't want to see my old friends." She pointed at the door with her thumb. "So, we going to get you some new armor or what?" Erza stood there for a moment, but then returned the smile.

"Sure, let's go." With that, the two friends headed out the doors and hit the streets to do some shopping.

–

Levy was sitting at the bar, sipping juice and reading, when she heard someone stumbling into the guild. She looked up and was surprised when she saw Natsu staggering around, tongue lolling out of his mouth and looking positively green at the gills. Happy was comfortingly patting him on the back.

"Natsu," she said with shock, "what's wrong?" He seemed to hold in a burp for a moment, then raised up a hand to pull himself up onto the counter.

"Is-_blugh_- is Lucy here? I need t' talk to her." Levy thought for a moment before she answered.

"Um... I think she went out shopping with Erza a little while ago, don't know where, though." Natsu let his head bang against the counter before dragging himself up and back out the door.

"Why me?" he muttered as he hobbled out, still recovering from motion sickness. Levy watched him go and sipped her drink.

"Hm. Weird stuff lately, huh?"


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy shot up from her writing when she heard a tapping noise from somewhere near the front of her apartment. She looked around, wondering what it could have been. Then, when she realized what it was, she sighed and went to the door. She opened it up and found Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen on the other side.

"Hi guys, sorry about that. It took me a minute to realize that someone was actually knocking on my front door." Evergreen raised a thin eyebrow at this, but said nothing.

"It was very kind of you to invite us over, Lucy," Freed said as he entered the house.

"Oh, it was nothing," Lucy said humbly as she blushed. "Besides, my old team was always over at my house, and I thought you guys'd like to take a look around. Just make yourselves comfortable." Bixlow looked around the spacious apartment, his 'babies' floating about him in a small orbit.

"Man, you got this for 70,000 Jewel? Wow, that's really cheap for a place like this." He flopped himself down into one of her chairs. "Comfy. Wish my place was like this." His stomach grumbled loudly. Lucy smiled and motioned towards the kitchen area of her house.

"Help yourself to the fridge if you're hungry. I just stocked up on food, so I should have something to eat that you'd like." Bixlow thanked her and headed over to the kitchen. While this short exchange had been going on, Freed and Evergreen had made their way to her living room. Freed was examining her bookshelf, while Ever seemed to be quietly examining her décor.

"Quite a selection you've got here," Freed praised. He picked a volume off the shelf and nodded when he saw the title. "I didn't really see you as a great reader, though." Lucy shrugged and twirled a lock of hair around her index finger.

"Well, what can I say? I guess I'm just full of surprises." She started when Freed picked up a book on the table next to a pot of ink.

"What's this? Are you writing something?" he asked. He was about to open it, but Lucy rushed forward and snatched it from him before he could.

"Um, I'd rather you not," she said quickly. She thought fast and spat out the first reason that came to mind. "I kind of promised Levy I'd let her read it first. But you could look at it after that, if you'd like." Freed nodded, an understanding smile on his face.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to that, then." On the other side of the room, Evergreen began speaking to her.

"I love the decor that you've got got going. The colors match together perfectly." Lucy shrugged modestly.

"Well, I do like pink." She motioned for Evergreen to follow her to a door near the back. "This is the bathroom, all for me," she couldn't help but brag. Evergreen stared around at the spacious bathing area with a hint of jealousy. "And here," she said, attempting to build up a bit of suspence, is my bedroom." She flung open the door, showing her inner sanctum. It was a simple space, to be sure. It contained her writing desk, a couple more bookshelves, some potted plants, her closet, and, of course, her bed. Evergreen went immediately to the closet, appraising her vast selection of outfits. She pulled out a summery, green dress and looked it over.

"Think I could borrow this, sometime?" Lucy nodded.

"Go ahead, I don't mind. As long as you bring it back in one piece." In the back of her mind, she was remembering an instance where Erza had borrowed one of her favorite shirts and had brought it back in near tatters. She hadn't even bothered to ask what had happened to it. Still, how could someone like Evergreen cause something like that to happen? Lucy laughed aloud and flopped backwards onto her bed.

"That looks comfy," Evergeen said as she saw the fluffy down comforter Lucy had landed on.

"Yup," Lucy mumbled. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she looked suspiciously off to the side. Ever raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Something wrong?" Lucy got up off the bed and stood off to the side, staring down at it.

_Don't tell me..._ She grabbed the comforter and quickly yanked it off the bed. What she saw made her eyes bug out. "Natsu?! Happy?!" The fire dragon slayer and his loyal cat were indeed there. They had been underneath the comforter, hidden by its' cushiony puffiness. Natsu sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Hah? Oh, morning Lucy." He yawned aloud as Happy sat up beside him and stretched. Lucy was not amused and went on to yell at them as Evergreen stood there, looking perplexed.

"What are you two doing in my room?! In my bed?!" Natsu looked at her as he spoke.

"Well, we came here earlier to talk to you, but you weren't home, so we waited for you. But then we fell asleep and-" he hushed up when Lucy held an open palm out at him. She had the bridge of her nose pinched between her thumb and forefinger.

"You know what? I don't really care right now? Just get up and get out of my room." Natsu, now fully awake, got off the bed and tried to talk to her.

"But Luce-"

"GET OUT NATSU!" Any further argument on the matter was quickly stopped before it started. Lucy delivered a swift, yet powerful kick to Natsu's chest, sending him flying out the (thankfully open) window and out into the street. Lucy huffed with anger, but then took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Evergreen made no comment on the outburst, but was looking out the window Natsu had flown from.

"Impressive kick," she complemented.

"Thank you," Lucy responded simply. At that moment, Freed and Bixlow rushed in, looking around quickly.

"What happened? We heard screaming." Lucy and Ever looked at each other, then giggled as they shrugged.

"Ah, it was nothing," Lucy said without care. "So, you guys want something to eat?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Come on, Natsu. Please get up." Lisanna gently shook Natsu's shoulder as she looked down at him with concern. The pink-haired dragon slayer responded with only a low groan, he didn't even bother to lift his face from the bar counter. It actually seemed like it was very hard to breathe with the was his face was pressed solidly against the solid surface. Lisanna bit her lower lip and nudged him again. "Please, Natsu, you've been like this for two days. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll give you one of my fish!" Happy added as a sort of bribe to gain his friends' attention. Natsu didn't respond for a moment, but after a moment, he rolled his head so it was his cheek pressing against the counter instead of his face. Lisanna smiled as gently as she could as she tried to get him to open up to her.

"You wanna' talk about what's getting you down? I'm willing to listen." Natsu laid there for a moment, then mumbled something incoherent. Lisanna frowned and leaned in closer. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I said 'Lucy's not part of the team anymore'." Lisanna looked surprised a she sat back up.

"Are you still so upset about that? It's been over a week since she joined Freed's team." Natsu let out another groan and rolled back onto his face. Mira, having overheard the conversation, stepped up to them as she polished a glass.

"I'm don't think that was really the best thing to say, Lisanna. He's really bummed about the whole thing, I don't think he needs reminding." Her younger sister sighed as she looked at her childhood friend.

"I don't know what to do, Mira. I can understand that he would be upset about this world's Lucy splitting apart from the group, they were pretty close back in Edolas, but I just don't know how to cheer him up. Nothing I'm trying to do is working." She pouted and looked down at the ground with disappointment in her eyes. "I feel like this is my fault. If I hadn't gone on that mission with Natsu-"

"Now, don't talk like that," Mira chided as she set the glass down. "None of this is your fault, Lisanna, it's no one's fault. Well, maybe Natsu's a bit," she added as a side thought, "but that's not the point." She rubbed the dragon slayer's pink head as she smiled reassuringly at her youngest sibling. "You know how Natsu is so close to all of his friends. He just hates the thought of anyone drifting away from him. He'll get over it eventually, so I wouldn't fret about it too much, okay?" Lisanna, feeling motivated by her older sister's small speech, regained her smile and nodded.

"You're right, thanks Mira," she said. Mira smiled as she picked up the glass she had set down.

"Not a problem." She walked down to the other end of the bar and put the over-polished glass with the others. "I wonder, though," she said aloud to herself, "could Lucy have been as upset as Natsu is now that he went off on a mission without her?"

–

"Sorry about this, Freed, I promise my packing will only take a minute!" The green haired mage shrugged and stood in a relaxed sort of way as Lucy unlocked her front door.

"Take your time, the train doesn't leave for another hour, so you have plenty of time to pack. Ever and Bix won't be there until the last minute anyhow." The Thunder God Tribe had taken up yet another job, only this one was going to turn into a trip for a couple of days, since the location of the job was so far away by train. Lucy nodded absentmindedly as she turned the key in the lock.

"I know, I just always take so long so pack, I don't want to hold you up." She flung open her front door and took a step inside.

"'Sup Luce?" A familiar voice called to her from within. Lucy whipped her head around and her eyes bugged out as she saw a familiar bare chest with a blue fairy tail mark that was in place in her favorite chair.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" Nothing more was said as she launched a flying kick directly at the person in her chair, sending Gray head-first into a wall. "And what have I told you about stripping in my house?!" Gray couldn't answer as he had the wind knocked out of him, and was still discombobulated from the impact of the solid wall against his head. Freed rushed in, sabre drawn.

"What happened? I heard shouting!" Lucy shook her head and motioned for him to sheathe his weapon.

"You can put that away, Freed. It's just Gray." The ice mage shook his head and stood up.

"Nice to see you too, Lucy," he greeted sarcastically. "What's up? Going off on another job?" Lucy nodded exasperatedly and hurried past him.

"Yeah. Sorry, no time to chat, gotta' pack. Be out in a moment, Freed." She rushed into her bedroom and the door slammed behind her. The two men stared each other in the eye, matching icy gazes (an impressive feat for Freed, considering he was up against an ice mage).

"Lucy doing alright on your team, Freed?" Gray asked frostily. Freed nodded, arms crossed.

"Indeed. She seems to like it with us. At least, she says she is." Gray nodded slowly, still matching him eye to eye. Finally, the ice mage shrugged and went for the door.

"Well, I just dropped by to check up on Lucy. Wanted to make sure everything was okay. I'm still her friend after all, I want to make sure she's happy." He narrowed his eyes at the other mage. "And remember, if I hear any hint that she's not, I'm making sure Erza hears about it too. See ya' 'round." He shut the door tightly behind him, leaving Freed standing alone in Lucy's living room. A few moment later, Lucy emerged from her room with a pink overnight bag hanging from her arm.

"Hey, sorry I took so long," she apologized. "Did Gray leave already?" Freed smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes, it seems he was busy and couldn't stay long." Noting the disappointed look on Lucy's face, he motioned towards the door. "So, are we ready to go?"

–

The train station for the town of Bubble was bustling with people. The scent of the local hot springs, which the town was famous for, was in the air. Lucy stretched out her arms from the long train ride.

"Mmh, I feel so cramped. I'm glad we're finally off that train," she said as she held her arms above her. "So, where to now, guys?" Freed and the rest of the Thunder God Tribe were looking around.

"Well, first we need to meet up with someone, we just have to find him." Lucy raised an eyebrow, then turned around on her heel.

"I didn't know we were meeting with anyone," she said as she turned. "So, who are the-" she stopped mid-word as she bumped into someone. She found herself looking at a very furry jacket, which was hanging loosely over the chest of the person she had bumped. Her eyes raised up and followed the wires of a SoundPod with the headphones over the person's ears. The scar over the right eye and yellow hair told her who exactly she had bumped into.

"Well, well," Laxus said, "look who it is."

–

Okay people, here's the deal. I was hoping to keep this friendshippy and such, but people have been begging for romance, so there will be a touch of romance. Thing is, I need help deciding. Now, it is up to you, fair readers, to tell me with whom the romance shall be. Shall it be Laxus, or Freed who gets a moment with Lucy. You decide. Please review and let me know who the majority want it to be.

Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and goodnight.


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, so, the outcome of the vote from last chapter has been found. The winner is... LAXUS! Sorry to all you who wanted Freed, although the running was very close. So, good try to the ones who didn't win what they wanted, but there may be another chance later on (not saying if or when). Either way, thanks for reviewing and voting, and I hope you all enjoy the story!

–

Lucy stretched out her arms as she walked down the paved street. Plue was tottering faithfully behind her like the (odd-looking) dog that he was, trembling all the way. "Man, what a day," Lucy said under her breath. After the initial surprise at finding out Laxus would be joining them on their mission, the mission itself had been more than a bit exhausting. While it had not been taking out a wizard's guild, there were quite a few monsters down in the sewers that had needed taking care of. Thankfully, though, with Laxus around, the job actually went fairly smoothly. With Laxus's lightning powers added to the rest of them, the monsters were exterminated.

Still, there were a few that Lucy had to face on her own, with some help from Aquarius. (Who, by the way, wasn't too happy that she was being summoned from sewer water.) While her spirit had been more than angry with her for the summoning space, she still managed to wash away a good number of them. The one spirit required quite a bit of magic for all the monsters dealt with, so she was just a bit tired.

After being revitalized by a good, hot shower, she headed out to take a look at the town. The rest of the Thunder God Tribe had said there were other things they wanted to do (Bixlow wanted to look at the swimming pol, Evergreen was still bathing, and Freed was reading a novel. No idea where Laxus was going off to). So, there she was, all on her own. As she rounded a corner, Lucy caught a glance of a couple of men hanging around and talking at the corner. She glanced over at them, and immediately got a feeling she wouldn't particularly like them, so she tried her best to get past without notice. However, this seemed not to happen.

"Well well, lookie here. We've got us a tourist girl." Lucy groaned inwardly as the two men came up beside her as she walked.

"Mm-hm, tourist girl's got a nice body." Lucy gave the two a quick look over, too quickly for either of them to notice. Ever since the incident when she had to be saved from the two wizards by Loke, she was more careful when taking note of people. However, these two seemed to be basically harmless. A big crude, but harmless nonetheless. Still, she kept a hand over the pocket that held her keys.

"So, blondie tourist, ya' doin' anything tonight? If ya' ain't, maybe you wanna' grab a couple of drinks with us?" Lucy narrowed her eyes and tried to keep walking.

"No thanks," she responded breezily. When she tried to step forward, though, the two men moved and blocked her path.

"Aw, come on, no need to be like that. Why don't you just come and hang with us?" Lucy gripped her keys and stepped backwards, prepared to fight if need be. There may have been two of them, but she had magic on her side. But when she took a backwards step, she felt herself bump right into something, or someone.

_Damn, was there a third one?_ She thought with a hint of panic. She was just about to whip out her keys, when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Hey, what's up?" She tilted her head up, and saw that it was Laxus standing behind her. He looked rather uninterested, but his eyes darted to the two men who had been hitting on Lucy. Upon the taller man's appearance, the two men halted cold. "Who're these guys?" The two men were staring at him and had the same thought going through their heads. Here was this hot-looking tourist girl who they might be able to take around the town, but now came her big **big** boyfriend who looked like he would be able to easily punch out both of their lights in a second. It took less than a moment of calculation to figure out that they needed to make an escape, and fast.

"Um, n-nobody. We're just a coupla' nobodies," one of the men said. The two started edging backwards, plastering grins on their faces as sweat poured down the backs of their necks.

"Yeah, in fact, we were just leaving, so, uh... bye." The men then proceeded to bolt off in the opposite direction, with gravel flying up from their sprinting feet. After watching them run off out of sight with their tails between their legs, Lucy turned to Laxus.

"Thanks for that, Laxus, I thought I was never going to get rid of those guys." The artificial lightning dragon slayer raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you talking about? I just happened to be walking, then I saw you talking to those guys and was wondering if you knew them." He paused, then when she didn't respond, he went on. "So... yeah. Did you know them?" Lucy shook her head with crossed arms.

"Them? No. They were just some random guys who were trying to pick me up. I could have taken care of them myself, but thanks anyways for coming along and helping me." Laxus 'hmph'ed in response, and the two were left in a rather awkward silence for a moment. Until Laxus broke it with a question.

"Well... I've really got nothing better to do right now, so... think you might want to grab some coffee or something? I know a place close by." Lucy stared at him for a moment, then crossed her arms.

"Um, no thanks. I'm really not in the mood for coffee." Laxus shrugged in a way that said 'suit yourself' until she spoke again. "Although," she continued as she looked away with a strange smile on her face, "I **am** in the mood for a cup of hot chocolate." Laxus paused, then chuckled.

"Fair enough. Come on, then, let's get going." Lucy grinned as she followed him, but once she fell a bit behind him and was out of his sight, her private mental freakout began.

_What on Earth and the heavens above am I doing?!_ She yelled in her head. _Was I just flirting?! With Laxus?! And why am I going along with this?! _She fell behind a bit too much, and ran up to catch up with Laxus once she realized it. Lucy was honestly pleasantly surprised when they reached the place Laxus was talking about. It had a fairly nice atmosphere, and the décor was very tasteful. They were met by a waiter almost the moment they sat down.

"Good day sir and miss, may I take your orders?" Lucy glanced down at the small menu that had been laying at the place mats before they sat down. She ordered a hot chocolate with cinnamon, and Laxus took straight black coffee. The waiter quickly scribbled down the orders and scurried off, arriving again with the drinks only a few minutes after. "There you go, please enjoy." Lucy picked up her chocolate and sipped it slowly, enjoying the rich flavor with a hint of sweet cinnamon. Laxus hadn't taken off his coat, so the mass of fabric and fur moved with him as he gulped down his coffee. Lucy leaned her head in her hand as she looked out the window. Random thoughts blew around in her head, and her mind started to wander.

_This is actually kind of nice. Just being able to sit here, sipping some hot chocolate with someone, even if that someone is Laxus... I wonder if we look like a couple sitting like this._ She mentally froze and shook herself. _Wait, what am I thinking?! No! We do not look like that! Aah! Why must I be such a hopeless romantic?!_

"Uh... you alright?" Lucy looked at Laxus, surprised to find him staring incredulously at her. "You kinda' zoned out for a while." Lucy looked away and continued drinking her chocolate.

"Yeah! Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine." She could feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck, though. By the time the waiter had come back with the check, the awkwardness in the air was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. As the check was placed on the table, Lucy reached for her wallet to get money to pay for her hot chocolate. However, before she could, Laxus slapped some money on the table, more than enough to pay for both of them. "Hey, wait, I'll just pay for my-" Laxus held up a hand to stop her.

"It's cool, I've got it. I was the one who asked you out here." Lucy remained silent and nodded, thanking him for that. A recurring theme she knew very well from her romance novels rang clear in her mind. '_The guy always pays for the meal on a date._' Lucy resisted the urge to banish the thoughts from her head by bashing her head against the nearest wall. After Laxus paid, the two left the cafe, heading back for the hotel. The night wasn't warm, though it wasn't cool either. However, a small gust of wind, blew by, making Lucy shiver briefly. Laxus noticed this slight movement with his keen dragon-eyes.

"What? You cold?" Lucy nodded nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but it's nothing. We'll be back at the hotel in just a couple of minutes, it's not far. Laxus had a contemplative face for a moment, but Lucy never would have predicted what happened next in a million years. Laxus whipped off his heavy coat and placed it over Lucy's shoulders. The blonde girl started when she felt the thick material suddenly coat her. When she gave him a surprised look, the artificial dragon slayer shrugged.

"What? You said you were cold." Lucy said nothing out of shock. However, she did allow herself to pull the coat tighter around herself. It was surprisingly soft, still warm from when Laxus had been wearing it. She was almost reluctant to give it back to him when they got back to the hotel. When she got back to the room she was sharing with Evergreen, she just changed into her pajamas and flopped into bed. In the bed next to her's, Evergreen stirred and blearily acknowledged her.

"Oh, hey there Lucy. Where'd you go?" Lucy rolled over and pulled the covers around her.

"Just out, nowhere special." Evergreen made a noise and rolled over, Lucy could tell that she quickly fell back asleep. The blonde mage rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Her stomach was full of rich hot chocolate and she was nice and relaxed. As she laid there awake, she couldn't help but wonder one thing.

_I wonder how the rest of the guys are doing?_


	8. Chapter 8

"What was that? A photo shoot?" Lucy and Freed were walking through from the guild. Freed had asked if she wanted to go on a walk, and Lucy, seeing nothing wrong with this, agreed.

"Yes," Freed said, looking up at her (up because Lucy was currently walking along the raised bank of the river, giving her a temporary advantage of a few inches over him). "A magazine has asked our team for an interview today. It was extremely short-notice, unfortunately, which is why I haven't asked you sooner." Lucy looked away for a moment to wave at the men who always seemed to pass by on the river at this time of day (they were shouting 'hello Lucy' and telling her to be careful not to fall in).

"What magazine?" Lucy asked, as the men in the boat passed on behind them. Freed glanced up at the sky, thinking.

"Er, I'm not quite sure, though I know we've done an interview or two a couple of times in the past. I believe it was... 'Sorcerer Weekly' or somesuch." He froze and covered his ears as Lucy suddenly let out an excited shriek. "What? What's wrong?!" He asked, shocked by the reaction.

"'Sorcerer Weekly'?! They want an interview?!" Freed nodded as they resumed walking.

"Well, yes. Ever and Bixlow have already agreed to it, they're going to meet him. I believe Laxus might be going along for fun. I myself am going, I just wanted to know if you would like to, seeing as you're on our team and all. However, you are free to decline, if you wish."

"Are you kidding me?! Who in their right mind would refuse an interview with 'Sorcerer Weekly'?! Yes I want to go!" Freed smiled and nodded.

"Okay, it's settled then." Lucy let out another little shriek of excitement and jump-hugged him. Freed flushed deeply, mainly due to the fact that his face had become the recipient of Lucy's chest when she jumped off the bank.

"Ohmigosh, I have to change!" She exclaimed, letting go of Free. "I can't go to my first ever interview wearing something like this!" Freed straightened his clothing and smoothed his hair.

"Relax. The interview isn't for another hour. You have plenty of time to find another outfit. Come on, let's stop by your house and let you find something else to wear. And let's grab a book, it sometimes takes forever when you're waiting for an interview." Lucy agreed and Freed followed her quickly so she could find the right outfit for an interview.

–

By the time they got there, Evergreen and Bixlow were already waiting. The two looked up as they approached, Evergreen waved and Bixlow flashed them a grin.

"Hey! There they are. It's about time you both showed up." Lucy shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, I couldn't decide what to wear." Freed shrugged as he took a seat on a bench.

"I thought you looked fine with what you were wearing before," he said to the air beside him. Lucy sat down next to Freed and opened up her book. It was a while as they sat there. Lucy was reading (with Freed glancing over her shoulder from time to time as she turned a page), Bixlow was chatting with his 'babies', and Evergreen was filing her nails along with applying her makeup. As Lucy came to a particularly good part in her book, Freed nodded as he glanced over her shoulder.

"Oh, now I see. This is a romance novel you're reading." Just as Lucy was about to respond, with a blush and a quick slamming-shut of her book being the most likely reflex, a camera flash temporarily blinded her. Lucy rubbed her eyes as if to wipe out the flashes of spots that were blooming in front of her eyes.

"Hey there, all! We're here!" Lucy tried to look and, once the spots finally cleared from her eyes, she was able to see the cause of them. In front of her, an overly-energetic looking man with an overly-large smile and a notebook was standing in front of a woman with giant sunglasses and a camera over her shoulder. Freed, also wiping spots from his eyes, greeted them.

"Ah, there you both are. I was wondering if you had forgot the time." The man waved a hand before pointing his thumb at the woman behind him.

"Nah, we just got a bit lost. Sorry about the flash sneak attack, Jeannie here just loves taking candids." The photographer with the giant sunglasses flashed a thumbs-up and blew a large, pink bubble from a wad of gum she had apparently been chewing. "Well, now that we're here, let's get started, shall we? Miss Evergreen, I'd like you to come up first, please." Evergreen sighed, but nodded, and followed. After a while, Bixlow went the same way. Finally, the reporter popped up to Lucy and held out a hand. "Hello there Miss, um, Lucy. We're ready for your interview." Lucy grinned and jumped up, slapping her book shut as she did.

"Okay! Let's go!" Lucy couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice, and she practically skipped to follow the reporter. They sat themselves down on another bench and the reporter began questioning her.

"So, Miss Lucy, you have been a member of the guild for how long?"

"Um, a few years, I guess." The reporter nodded and scribbled something down.

"Alright. What kind of wizard are you? And what it your strongest spell?" Lucy shrugged and twirled a strand of her hair.

"Well, I'm a celestial wizard, just like my mother was. Since they're spirits, they're not exactly spells. But if we're talking strength, then I would have to say it's a close contest between either Leo or Aquarius." The reporter excitedly nodded, scribbling down her answers quickly. The questions went on for a good five minutes, in which time, Lucy was asked numerous questions about her magic, things she liked, and her experiences in the guild. Each of these she answered with gusto. Finally, the reporter said they were done and asked for only one more picture of her before he called Freed over for his interview. So, Lucy walked back to the Thunder God Tribe with spots flashing in her eyes. Evergreen waved as she came and sat down in the bench again.

"Hey Luce," she greeted. "So, how was your first magazine interview?" Lucy grinned as she opened her book back up.

"Pretty good, actually! I felt it went really great about it! I can't wait to see how it turn out when it gets printed!" Lucy suddenly let out a yelp as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her against a broad chest.

"Hey! The princess is here!"

"Laxus!" Indeed, the lightning dragon slayer was standing over her, and had her in sort of a semi-hold.

"Yup, that's my name, don't wear it out." A sudden flash invaded both of their visions, causing them both to blink black and white spots from their eyes. "Damn! I always hated those camera flashes, they'll blind you for real!" The camera-woman shrugged as she blew another bubble, her reporter partner was smiling with as much energy as earlier.

"Excellent. Everyone, thank you for all of the great photos and interviews, they will all be posted in the next issue of 'Sorceror Weekly'! I hope you're all looking forward to seeing the great article we're planning. So long everyone, peace!" The reporter took off practically skipping, with the camera-woman blowing and popping bubbles behind him. Freed, who had walked up with the pair, had his eyes on Laxus and Lucy, the former still having an arm around the latter's shoulders.

"Hey there, Laxus," he said a bit too loudly. Laxus grinned at him. "Oh, hey there Freed. How was your interview. Freed allowed his own smile.

"Alright."

–

Cana leaned back against the bar counter, mug of alcohol in hand, and flipped open a copy of 'Sorceror Weekly'. She really didn't care about the stories, but she liked being caught up on all of the latest gossip. The first article, she saw, was an interview of the Thunder God Tribe. However, when she read one of the subtitles under the article, she nearly spit out her drink.

_'The Thunder God Tribe's Secret Love Triangle: A fight between the Script Lord and the Thunder God over the new up and coming Celestial Goddess?'_


	9. Chapter 9

"_'Love is ripe in the air as the Thunder God Tribe has become host to a budding love triangle. Lucy Heartfilia, the newly proclaimed 'Celestial Goddess', appears to have become the unwitting object of affection to both the famous Script Lord (Freed Justine) and the ever-famous leader of the 'Tribe', the Thunder God himself, Laxus Dreyar. This blooming, bubbly, blonde mage, with a dazzling smile and an spectacular body, has captured the hearts of these young men (not to mention this reporter)._

_Without a doubt, the rivalry will be fierce as both of these young men put their passion for romance up front alongside their passion for magic. Who will win the heart of this stunning goddess? Only time will tell.' _" Cana put in her own thoughts as she finished reading the article in her hand. Levy and Mira were both sitting by her, listening as she read the article aloud for them (she was the only one of the three who had a copy of said magazine with her).

"Wow, lucky Lucy," Mira said cheerfully. Levy grinned slyly and covered her mouth with her hand.

"I never thought she would have had it in her, honestly. I mean, I'm used to Jet and Droy trying to win me over all the time, but these are two of the best guys in the guild, and she has successfully won over both of them." She looked over at Mira apologetically. "Sorry about Fried, Mira." Mirajane shrugged and brought Levy a refill for her drink.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Levy. It's not like we were ever dating or anything. I'll be rooting on Lucy every step of the way, no matter which guy she gets." The three girls giggled, until they heard a familiar stomping coming their way.

"Hey girls! How's it going?" Natsu was grinning ear to ear as he came towards them. A couple of months had been well enough to get his mind away from his depression about Lucy's leaving (with much help from Lisanna and the rest, of course). Now he only drooped whenever someone mentioned Lucy's leaving, which many did not if only to keep the fire dragon from sinking back into his pit. "Ooh, reading something? What is it? Lemme see!" Before any of the girls could protest, he snatched the magazine off of the counter and brought it to his face. The three girls froze in place, dead silent, waiting for the reaction that would surely be a direct plummet into the dark hole of Natsu's depression.

_Oh dear,_ Mirajane thought.

_Not good,_ Levy thought at about the same time.

_This'll be interesting,_ Cana smirked in her mind. The silence dragged on, mainly due to Natsu's slowness at reading. However, they thought they knew when he had finished the article when his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped open.

"Er, n-now Natsu..." Levy tried to say, but the fire dragon slayer held the magazine to his chest and looked over to where the rest of the group were.

"Sorry! Gotta borrow this! No time to explain!" With that, he bolted, leaving the three at the bar in the dust as he reached the table in a second flat.

"Well, that was better than it could have been," Mirajane put in optimistically.

"I guess so..." Levy answered slowly. Cana watched him go over to his main group, and shrugged before she chugged her beer.

"Man, that was duller than I was hoping."

–

Natsu appeared at the group's table so quickly they could almost have sworn he had teleported. What was more, he was babbling incoherently and waving his arms like he was trying to take wing.

"Guys! Lucy! Laxus! Freed! Magazine! Tribe! Guys! Look! Guys!" While the rest were hesitant to try to comprehend his babbling, Gray quickly solved the problem by freezing Natsu's mouth shut.

"Calm down Natsu, we can't understand a word you're saying!" Natsu glared at the ice mage as he melted the ice crystals from his lips. "Now, take a deep breath and start over, **slowly**." Natsu glared and slammed the magazine onto the table.

"Read this!" Erza, who was closest, picked it up and read it aloud for the rest to hear. By the time she was done, all of them were wide-eyed.

"Really? Lucy is in a love triangle?" Lisanna asked with honest interest. "Wow. Well, I really shouldn't be so surprised, I guess. She's so pretty, I guess I would be more surprised if something like this **hadn't** happened. What's wrong, Natsu? Are you upset that Freed and Laxus are competing for Lucy's attention?" Natsu stared at her like she was crazy.

"What? Why would I be upset over that? I don't care that they wanna' hang out with her so bad, it's that she doesn't wanna' hang out with us! She hasn't spent any time with us since she joined their team!"

"That's not true," Erza cut in. "Actually, she's been quite fair about spending time with us along with her new team. In fact, we went shopping a few weeks ago."

"She invited me over to have a cup of iced coffee a while back," Gray chimed in.

"We went out for ice cream just yesterday," Wendy added. Natsu stared at them open-mouthed, it was obvious that the lights were on but no one was home in his head.

"Wah? B-buh... How come she hasn't hung out with me?" Gray raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his bare chest.

"Well, have you even stopped to consider that maybe she's mad at you for something?"

Erza nodded and said, "I agree with Gray. She has shown obvious signs of not wanting to speak to you specifically." She paused, then added, "by the way, Gray, put your clothes back on." The ice mage promptly freaked out and dove under the table where his clothes had inexplicably been tossed. Natsu placed a hand on his chin and squinched his eyes, you could almost **hear** the sound of the gears in his head grinding against each other.

"Don't go straining yourself there, flame brain." Suddenly, Natsu's face brightened up, and he smacked a fist against his open palm.

"That's it!" Happy tilted his head at Natsu from the table.

"What's 'it', Natsu?" he asked with genuine interest. Natsu turned to Lisanna and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Lisanna, you're a genius!" The snowy-haired mage blinked once.

"Okay, thanks... what am I a genius for?"

"That thing you said earlier!" Lisanna tried to think back to the last thing she said in the conversation.

"The triangle?" Natsu shook his head and spun his finger.

"No! After that!"

"Lucy is pretty?"

"After!" Lisanna paused, then shrugged.

"Okay, I give up, you've lost me Natsu. What am I a genius for?" Natsu jumped up and raced out, calling over his shoulder.

"I'll tell you later, Lisanna! I'll let you know when it's all done!" Those at the table blinked one at a time a few seconds after Natsu raced out again.

"So... anyone else have any idea what he's planning?" Gray asked flatly. Everyone else answered in unison.

"NOPE."

–

Lucy smiled as she reclined in her chair with a cup of coffee. The new issue of Sorceror Weekly had come out not too long ago, and she had raced to the nearest news stand to pick up a copy as soon as she could. Then, she had raced back to her apartment to read it in the comfort of her favorite chair. With a small glance at the table of contents, she flipped to the page the article was on and began reading, taking a sip of her coffee as she did so. A second into reading, she turned and spit out her coffee in a fine spray.

"WHAT?!"


	10. Chapter 10

Evergreen was sitting back and enjoying her usual afternoon cup of iced coffee when someone suddenly started banging on her door. With an eyebrow raised, she placed down her cup and went to her door. When she opened it, she found Lucy on the other side, panting and looking harried.

"Oh, Lucy, this is a nice surprise. Come on in." Lucy followed her in, and Evergreen shut the door behind her. As Lucy caught her breath, Evergreen caught sight of something in the blonde's hand. "Ooh, is that the newest issue of Sorceror Weekly? Let me see, I want to take a look at the interview." Lucy shot up and practically shoved the magazine at her.

"That's just it! Look at this!" Evergreen took the magazine and flipped to the page the cover said their interview would be on. As she did so, she heard Lucy babbling and going on. Something about a triangle and articles and a coffee stain in her carpet. Evergreen skimmed through and glazed over the headings, until the came to the one that Lucy had obviously been freaking out over. She adjusted her glasses as she ran her eyes down the lines of text. Finally, with Lucy in much apprehension, Evergreen shrugged and tossed the magazine aside.

"What? You're worried about a little something like that? That's just magazine trash, trying to draw in more readers and give more attention to the mage. It's meant to be a win-win." Evergreen shrugged and let herself back down in a chair. "Anyways, I don't see exactly why you're so freaked out about it, I would have thought that someone cute like you would have already experienced dozens of guys wanting you." Lucy could feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck as she turned her head away.

"Eh... not really," she mumbled. Evergreen shrugged and grinned mischievously.

"Well then, if there's one thing that this interview will do for you, it will certainly attract the men to you now. Guys will go crazy over a girl they think is being fought over. Works every time."

–

Bixlow allowed his tongue to loll out of his mouth as he reclined in one of Freed's chairs, his feet up and resting on the footstool. He glanced around one of his 'babies' as the green-haired man himself flipped through the pages of a particularly thick volume.

"Hey, watcha' been doin' over there, Freed? You've been flipping through and tossing aside books for over an hour." He jabbed a thumb over at the steadily-growing pile of books that Freed had tossed aside. With a shrug, Freed slapped the book in his hands shut and let it drop to join its' fellows on the floor.

"Well, it's just something I've been thinking, Bix. You know how all three of us have some sort of magic that relates to our eyes?" Bixlow nodded, acknowledging his 'figure eyes' and the abilities of two of his other teammates. "Well, I suppose you could say that ocular magic has sort of become our signature. So, I thought it would be a good idea to find something that Lucy could use, considering she's part of our team now. However," he motioned towards the pile on the floor, "I've been having some trouble finding a kind that would suit her."

"You don't say," Bixlow intoned, with his 'babies' echoing 'don't say' over and over behind him. Even as he watched, Freed plucked another spell book out of his overflowing shelves and flipped through it, mumbling to himself. "Hey, toss me one of those. Maybe I could find something. Anyways, two pairs of eyes are better than one." Freed shrugged and tossed a book towards him. Bixlow flopped it open and skimmed over the pages. "Ooh! How about this one? X-ray eyes! I'd sure like to have those." Freed wrinkled his nose, but did not look away from his book.

"Kindly keep your personal preferences to yourself, Bix. Maybe someone like you would want that kind of magic, but I doubt Lucy would really care for that." Bixlow grunted and looked through again.

"Hm... then how about mind control? Puts people under your control if they look you in the eyes." Freed rubbed his chin as he thought it over.

"Perhaps. I think she might like something that would allow her to fight without getting too close. And that sounds like it might be something good for her. Put a bookmark in that one." Saying this, he plucked mark from his pocket and tossed it carelessly to Bixlow. The other man caught it and stuck it between the pages before looking on.

"Hm, this one looks good. Precognition. Allows the user to see events a short time before they happen, allowing these events to be changed or prevented if necessary. Might be good if forced into a hand-to-hand combat situation. Or perhaps a sort of eye-linked levitation magic. One of these three might be good. Alright, let's put these down somewhere and put the rest of these back on the shelves." Bixlow looked around the floor at all of the books that had piled up during Freed's earlier searches.

"Great," he droned, copied by his 'babies'. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and out of the chair and began helping Freed gather up the volumes on the wooden boards. Suddenly, just as they were nearly done, Freed's front door slammed open. Said green-haired man dropped the books in his arms out of shock, sending them back to the ground thanks to gravity. In his doorway stood Natsu, with an odd look on his face.

"I could have sworn that that door was locked," he muttered. Regaining his composure quickly, he looked the fire-dragon slayer in the face. "Can I help you with something, Natsu?" Natsu took long strides into the room and jabbed a finger into Freed's face.

"Freed, my team challenges your team for Lucy!"


End file.
